‘Will celebrate only after he returns’

As the judge said Nanda could only be held guilty of rash and negligent driving,his mother Renu broke down,folding her hands she repeatedly thanked the judge. His brother-in-law Punj,meanwhile,cheered with joy.

The family,however,anxiously waited for the quantum of sentence to be announced.

As the judge announced that Nanda was sentenced to two years in jail,the family realised it would not take long for him to come out of Tihar Jail.

“God is kind. I thank him,” was the reaction of Nanda’s mother,who said she was now only waiting for her son to come back.

Jethmalani also did not forget to express his thankfulness to the court and told the judge,“Like any other judgement which the Bar accepts with grace and gratitude,we accept this judgement with gratitude as well.”

While the family shared some close moments and embraces,Suresh Nanda said that the law had taken its own course and the celebration would wait till Sanjeev comes back home. “We will sit and calculate how many days Sanjeev would still have to spend behind the bars. We will celebrate only after he comes back. We also do not intend to go for an appeal against this judgement or file application for remission of his remaining sentence,as we just want it to get over once and for all,” said the international arms dealer,who had remained tight-lipped after the trial court verdict.

Nanda’s friend Manik Kapoor,who was initially prosecuted as a co-accused but was later acquitted by the trial court,could also not control his tears and said his friend had already suffered a lot and deserved a fresh lease of life now.

Nandas’ family friend,Retd Lt Col S J Chaudhary,who was awarded a life term in the parcel bomb case by the trial court but was acquitted by the High Court,was also present. “The trial court must shed its tilt towards convictions not on the fair judicial means and ways. After my case,it is another example where the lower court erred in inflicting harsh punishment,” he said.

Court observation
Court calls Nanda ‘merchant of death’
While adjudicating the quantum of sentence,the court blamed Nanda for self-inflicted damages to his career,profession and personal life.

“Let us also not lose sight of the plight of those families,who have lost their dear ones and their lives have been plunged into darkness by a singular act of this young man who for his own enjoyment was stalking the roads of Delhi as a merchant of death,” noted the court.

Refusing to grant leniency on the ground that he disbursed Rs 65 lakh in compensation to the victims,the judge observed,“He did so more with a view to secure bail than out of compassion for the victims. One cannot lose sight of the fact that every possible effort was made to destroy the evidence,to win over the witnesses,and to influence the prosecution and the police.”

Make roads safer,Court tells govt
Voicing his concern over poor safety conditions on the city roads and inadequate legal provisions to deal with the cases of drunken driving,Justice Kailash Gambhir appealed to the Centre to take note of the facts of this case and include it in its 100-day programme.

“It is high time the legislature takes a re-look at the present laws so as to prevent drunken driving. The legislature has yet to move in this regard and it would be appreciated that the Government gives due priority to the issue of drunken driving in its agenda for taking many public spirited issues in 100 days from the date of assumption of their office,” said Justice Gambhir.

The judge said that public safety appeared to be the last in the list of priority of the government. “Slayer BRT corridors,killer Blueline buses and slaughterer Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway and very recently unfortunately Delhi Metro Rail Corporation,of which every citizen is proud of,has joined the list of State apathy towards the citizens,” said the court.

Sunil Kulkarni in net for perjury
The Mumbai-based trader,Sunil Kulkarni,who was touted as the only eyewitness in the case,underwent the judicial test of credibility. The High Court slammed Kulkarni for intervening in the proceedings even though he was not present at the crime scene. “Kulkarni is the most dishonest,unreliable,untrustworthy and untruthful witness. His entry in the case is as dramatic as could happen only in our Bollywood movies. Finding involvement of an accused from a rich and affluent family,he jumped into the fray may be to make a fortune,” said Justice Kailash Gambhir in his description of the prosecution’s “star witness”. “The deposition of court witness Sunil Kulkarni is thrown out lock,stock and barrel,” held the judge,directing the Registrar to initiate criminal proceedings of perjury against him.

Case history
Jan 10,1999: Six persons,including three policemen,killed by a speeding BMW car driven by Nanda in an inebriated condition in Lodhi Colony area.
Apr 7,1999: Chargesheet filed under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder),308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide not amounting to murder),201 (destruction of evidence) of the IPC.
Aug 3,1999: Charges framed against the accused.
Sep 30,1999: Mumbai-based businessman Sunil Kulkarni,who claimed to be an eye witness,is dropped as prosecution witness after being condemned as a won-over man.
May 14,2007: Kulkarni records statement as a court witness. He identifies Nanda as one of the occupants of the car but says he did not see him in the driver’s seat.
May 30,2007: A news channel airs a sting operation showing collusion between Nanda’s counsel,R K Anand,and prosecutor,I U Khan.
Aug 21,2008: HC holds Khan and Anand guilty of contempt and bars them from appearing in courts for four months.
SepT 2,2008: Trial Court convicts Sanjeev Nanda for mowing down six persons. Three others,including businessman Rajeev Gupta and his two employees Bhola Nath and Shyam Singh,convicted for destruction of evidence. Another co-accused Manik Kapoor acquitted.
SepT 5,2008: Trial Court awards Nanda a five-year jail term. Gupta and his employees — Bhola Nath and Shyam Singh — get one-year and six-month prison terms,respectively.
SepT 22,2008: Nanda approaches the HC challenging lower court’s decision.
Dec 19,2008: HC grants three-week interim bail to Nanda to meet his ailing grandfather S M Nanda.
May 12,2009: HC reserves its verdict and grants three weeks interim bail to Nanda to attend the funeral of his grandfather and former Naval Chief S M Nanda,who died on May 11.
July,20,2009: HC upholds conviction against Nanda and three others. However,it reduces Nanda’s jail term from five to two years.